Klöts: The 3D Printed Shoe Closures (3D Printer Thursday)

Published January 21, 2016

A new year, and time to start a new thing both here and on my YouTube channel. I am calling it 3D Printer Thursday. Every Thursday, I will aim to print an interesting, mystery object from Thingiverse or maybe something I have designed myself. I will not say what it is in the title and guesses (before the reveal at the end) should be posted in the comments!

I will also publish the article about the item printed here on my blog.

Anyway, this first edition of 3D Printer Thursday kicks off with Klöts. They are a 3D printable solution for shoe closures which help to quickly and securely fasten your shoes without the risk of laces coming undone. A while a go I backed a project on Kickstarter that mad magnetic closures called Zubits which I now use on my everyday running shoes!

Zubits – Magnetic shoe closures

This printable design is great as it is cheap and allows as many as needed to be made so everyone in the family can have a set for their shoes. The creator of Klöts has seemingly applied for a patent and to be honest I am not surprised because I can see these giving Zubits a run for their money. They are far more easily manufactured than Zubits as they require no embedded magnets and so these could be injection moulded on a huge scale comparatively cheap when compared to the Zubits.

I will admit that Zubits are a more elegant solution to shoe closures and are quicker due to the magnets. I have found that the Klöts can be a little fiddly to close, but as they are printable it is certainly a cheaper solution and can be made within an hour!